Belt and buckle combination



Oct. 25, 1949. J. .1.1 MEYERsoN ETAL 2,486,311

` BELT AN BUcKLE COMBINATION Filed July 1e, 1945 ashets-sheet 1 Oct. 25, 1949. J-.'J-. MEYERsoN TAL 2,486,311

BELT AND Bumm COMBINATION Filed July 1e, 19455 2 sheets-sheet 2 III. n VIII; 'III' Patented Oct. 25, 1949 2,486,311 BELT AND BUCKLE COMBINATION Joseph J. Meyerson, Montclair, N. J., and Herbert Buchsbaum, Chicago, Ill., assignors to S. Buchsbaum & Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application July 16, 1945, Serial No. 605,206

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to an improved strap and buckle combination suitable for use in connection with wearing apparel, such4 for example as a belt and buckle arrangement, suspendersyshoes and watch straps and the like.

An object of this invention is to provide in com-- bination with a strap, a buckle having no moving parts, but which is so arranged as to permit of easy operation.

A further object is to provide a buckle in the form of a hook which is so shaped as to embody an over-center action whereby the combination of the strap when in use will maintain the buckle in closed position.

Still another object is to provide an improved hinged connection between a strap and a buckle.

A still further object is to provide an improved form of buckle which may be inexpensively man- 'ufactured and which embodies a minimum amount of metal. Belt buckles and the like are frequently made of precious metal, and therefore, any substantial decrease in the amount of such metals used in the construction of such buckle materially lessens the cost of such buckles.

Other objects, features and advantages of this invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.

With reference now to the drawings, in which like numerals designate like parts,

Fig. 1 is a view of a belt and buckle embodying a preferred embodiment of this invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the buckle, and of those portions of the belt adjacent thereto;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the parts in a changed position;

Fig. 4 is a detailed view of the looped portion of the belt, partially in section;

Fig. 5 is a view of the buckle;

Fig. 6 is a detailed view of the looped portion of the belt after it has been opened out or unfolded;

Fig. '7 is an elevational view of a second embodiment of the present invention showing the buckle and strap arrangement as applied to a wrist Watch;

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the arrangement shown in Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a fragment only of the watch strap showing a different embodiment of the buckle from that shown in connection with the first embodiment of this invention; and

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary side elevational view of still another embodiment of the present invention showing the strap and buckle arrangement as applied to a ladys shoe.

Referring now to Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive the first embodiment of the invention takes the form of a belt and buckle arrangement.

Reference numerals Ill and II designate generally the belt and buckle, respectively. The belt is provided with a looped portion I2 at one end thereof, which is maintained in closed position by means of snap buttons I3. The end of the looped portion is provided with a slot I4, as shown in Figs. 4 and 6. The other end of the belt is provided with a series of holes I 5.

The buckle II is in the form of a hook which comprises a U-shaped portion I6 having a short arm I'I and a long arm I8. The end of the short arm I'I is provided with a transverse member I9. As shown in Fig. 5, this transverse member is formed by splitting the strip of metal from which the hook is made and then by expanding the slitted portion. In other words, the slitting provides two arms 2I and 22 which are bent outwardly at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the hook, as shown in Fig. 5. The end of the slit is indicated by the notch 20 in Fig. 5.

The hook is assembled to the belt in the following manner: The looped portion of the belt is unfolded as in Fig. 6, the outer surface of the belt being toward the observer. The end of the long arm I8 of the hook II is inserted through the slot I4 and the looped portion is closed and held closed by the snap buttons I3. In its completely assembled position, the U-shaped portion I6 projects beyond the slot, and the hook is held in place by the engagement ofthe transverse lmem-- ber I9 with the end of the looped portion I2.

When the buckle is in its opened position, las shown in Fig. 3, the end of the long arm I8 can be inserted into one of the holes I5, and then the long arm I8 serves as a lever for manual manipulation. The tension of the belt maintains the hook in the closed position, as shown in Fig. 2, but in opening or unbuckling the buckle, the additional leverage provided by the long arm I8 is of considerable assistance inasmuch as the belt is tensioned during the opening operation.

The short arm I'I is provided with a hump portion 23 which permits the buckle to be thrown all the Way over to its open position where the hump causes the short arm to clear the edge of the slot.

Referring now to Figs, 7 to 9 inclusive the invention is illustrated in the form of a watch strap. In this form a wrist Watch 25 is illustrated with straps '26 and 2'I connecting to Opposite sides thereof. On the free end of strap 26 is the buckle 28 which in this instance has its short arm 29 disposed as a relatively straight arm as distinguished from the arm shown in Fig. 3 wherein a hump portion 23 was provided. The strap 21 is provided with perforations 30 for receiving the long arm 3| of the buckle 28. The free end of the short arm 29 is again provided with transverse members 32 that correspond with transverse members I9 in the rst embodiment of the invention. These transverse members 32 are held by the free end of strap 26 in e. manner similar to that described with respect to the rst embodiment of the invention, except that in this instance the looped portion 33 of the strap 2B is provided by merely bending the strap 26 back on itself and sewing the free end of this bent-back portion to the main body of the strap 25.

The relationship of the small arm 29 to the large arm 3l of the buckle 29 to the connection of the buckle to the strap 20 and the strap 21 is such that an over-center action is provided when the buckle is in its closed position, shown for example in Fig. 9. In this condition of the buckle force tending to pull apart the straps 26 and 21 at the buckle 28 maintains the buckle in its closed position.

The third embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in Fig. 10. In this instance a shoe shown at 34 is provided at the back thereof with a strap 35 adapted to pass around the rear of the heel portion of the wearers foot indicated at 36 to engage a second strap element 31 forming part of the opposite side of the shoe. The buckle 38 in this instance is secured to strap portion 36 and is adapted to pass through perforations 39 disposed in the free end of strap 35. g.

This buckle 38 may conform with the buckle shown in Fig. 9 and its operation is exactly the same.

Although three embodiments of the invention are shown and described herein it will be apparent that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the intended scope of the invention. The foregoing description and the drawings are illustrative only and the invention is to be limited anly by the appended claim.

This application is a continuation in part of our prior application Serial N o. 576,336, filed February 5, 1945, now abandoned, and in so far as the subject matter of our prior application is consistent with the subject matter herein, the disclosure embodied in our prior application is hereby incorporated into and made a part of the present application.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

A fastening device for fastening together two members comprising a hooked shape member having a long and a short arm, the two arms being spaced apart and substantially parallel with respect to each other, the short arm being approximately a third the length of the long arml a curved portion connecting the two arms, and pivot means adjacent to the free end of the short arm, the long arm being generally curved toward the short arm, a hump in the short arm having a concavity facing outwardly with respect to said long arm so that said short arm at the concavity will clear the edge of a looped slot in which said hooked shaped member may be pivoted, whereby said hooked shaped member may be fully opened without appreciably stressing said edge.

JOSEPH J. MEYERSON. HERBERT BUCHSBAUM.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 430,982 Zeigler June 24, 1890 451,482 Hisley May 5, 1891l 600,331 Lanz Mar. 8, 1898 711,746 Thomson Oct. 21, 1902 1,582,096 Thomas Apr. 27, 1926 

